With EA’s own
Madden series of simulation football games consistently ranking at the top of
the videogame sales charts, it seems like the arcade football sub-genre has
taken a backseat to the real deal. Sure Midway’s Blitz games have kept the fire
burning, but that franchise has grown more than a bit long-in-the-tooth.
Luckily, EA Big’s latest gridiron offering does for football what NBA Street did
for basketball: infuses the sport with an over-the-top sense of style and
excitement that would only work in an arcade football game. While it may not be
quite as refined as its NBA counterpart, NFL Street is still hands down the best
arcade football game yet.
Much like the
Blitz titles of yore, NFL Street is a seven-on-seven game of football. Unlike
any football outing before it, however, you won’t be playing in well-known
arenas. Instead, the action takes place in urban locations across the country.
Downs are denoted by specific markers on the field spread 10 yards apart, and
yardage is carried over to the next possession. Field goals have been ditched
in favor of running and passing point conversions. Since there are no referees
to nip at the heels of a player’s every sleight of hand, you don’t have to worry
about things like “rules” and “regulations.”
The gameplay in
NFL Street is unmistakably of an arcade ilk. The action is fast and the
potential for anything to happen is high. Spinning, juking, and jumping and
brute force pushing your way through defenders are all fundamental moves for
playing a good offensive game. But the best way to keep a play active is
through utilizing the quick pass maneuver; by constantly pitching the ball from
player to player before getting sacked, you can keep the ball alive all the way
to the end zone. While playing D is nowhere near as fun or engaging as chucking
the pigskin, defense does have its own set of moves designed to keep the dogs at
bay. Deflecting passes, power dive tackles, and straight up ripping the ball
away from the carrier are all great ways to keep your opponent’s trigger finger
shaking.
But it’s the
ability to infuse these moves with style, speed, and power that really puts NFL
Street in a league of its own. As expected, there is a turbo button that
noticeably increases the speed of the character you’re playing as, which, when
used properly, can give your running game a decisive edge. The L trigger is
essentially your trick modifier, allowing you to execute a slew of different
spirit-crushing maneuvers that give you points and fill up your gamebreaker
meter. These tricks include such things as dribbling the rock basketball style
on your way to the end zone, pulling off a superman over the defensive players
below, and spinning the ball on your finger like a Harlem Globetrotter.
Executing style moves can be a risky proposition since they make you more
vulnerable to fumbling and turning the ball over, but earning style points is
the only way to raise your gamebreaker meter.
The gamebreaker
meter implemented in NFL Street works exactly as it did in NBA Street. Once
filled you can press a button to initiate gamebreaker mode, which transforms
your team into a group of bloodthirsty, rampaging animals for the duration of
one possession. When playing offense you’re able to cut through defenders like
a hot knife through butter. Playing on defense during a gamebreaker will
practically ensure a quick turnover. The benefit you get from gamebreakers is
substantial, and as the name suggests, they have the potential to turn the tides
in any game.
There is a healthy
amount of game modes in NFL Street and while a few of them are nothing special,
the one-player NFL challenge mode serves up over 15 hours of meaty game play.
You’ll begin NFL challenge with a group of wet-behind-the-ears football players
and travel the country taking on the best the NFL has to offer. Each NFL
division you play has its own set of challenges as well as a more traditional
ladder style tournament. By successfully completing challenges and winning
games you’ll earn points that can be used to open up a new division and increase
your player’s abilities. The challenges start out pretty straightforward,
tasking you to do such things as being the first to score, or accumulating a
certain amount of style points – but as you progress they get tougher and
require you to accomplish multiple goals in a game while also making sure you
win.
The challenge mode
is a great place to learn the ins and outs of NFL Street’s gameplay, but you’ll
be beating the snot out of the computer well before you’ve reached the end of
the campaign. Luckily, Street’s multiplayer offerings are excellent and extend
the lifespan of the game considerably. You and another player can go the quick
game route, which is the easiest and fastest way to set up a head-to-head
multiplayer game. But once you get three or four people in on the action you’ll
be in for some serious fun.
Visually, NFL
Street doesn’t look quite as refined or polished as NBA Street Vol. 2, but it
does do an excellent job of capturing the same hip-hop, urban style that made
that game such a treat to watch. The players have an exaggerated look about
them, which helps to reinforce the game’s focus on impossibly hard-hitting
collisions. Animation is fluid and seamless, every move in the game transitions
flawlessly to the next. The Xbox version of the game is definitely the best
looking of the bunch, but the differences between the three ports are
negligible. The sound presentation is also top notch and features an addictive
mix of licensed rock and hip-hop from artists such as Korn, Lil’ Flip, and the
X-ecutioners. Unfortunately, most of the musical tracks are only heard during
the menu screens. The sound effects for things like tackles, getting smashed
against a concrete wall, and crashing to the ground from a high-flying jump
compliment the on-screen action perfectly.
If NBA Street is
any indication, I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing future
installments of this game. It seems like the developers purposely, or perhaps
because of time-constraints they, left out certain aspects of the Street
franchise that were present in the latest NBA Street (double gamebreakers, for
example), but at least we know what to expect with the sequel.
Gameplay: 8.7
Like NBA Street,
the gameplay is easy enough to be pick-up-and-play friendly but deep enough to
stay entertaining for weeks.
Graphics: 8.7
Every visual aspect of NFL
Street
is brimming with stylish, urban flava that gives the game an impressive and
unique look.
Sound: 9.1
The soundtrack is off-the-hook but the sound effects
are what will really get your blood pumping.
Difficulty: Easy
After accruing
enough ability points to sufficiently increase the skill level of your players,
most will be able to breeze through just about any challenge unscathed.
Concept: 9.1
EA Big was certainly on to something when they overhauled the game of basketball
with their unique vision and the same feat has been accomplished here.
Multiplayer: 8.2
After a while the
computer starts to get a little too predictable, luckily there’s no telling what
another human player will do.
Overall: 8.6
If you’ve been
hankering for some solid, action-packed, arcade-style football then NFL Street
should fit the bill perfectly.
